Posts Tagged: fast

Ok, Now What Do I Do?

When we first moved into our “new” home (it was new then) over 20 years ago, it was obvious that something needed to be done about the “back forty”!  Not only was the area free of any desirable vegetation, but with the only single-story house in the area, we were living in a goldfish bowl!!  We couldn’t see into the neighbors’ homes, but they could sure peer into ours.  This was brought to my attention when in the family room – I felt as though someone or something was staring at me.  After going through a list of no-no’s not to do in public, I finally went to the large window and looked around – there she was, a small girl of 7 or 8 staring through HER window and into my house; she was watching me!

That was the beginning of the Betsy “hurry-up-and-plant-things around the fences “plan.  A lot of thought went into was going to be planted and, of course, what wasn’t allowed on the property.  Among the selections were fast growing shrubs such as oleander (Nerium oleander), pomegranate (Punica granatum), various climbing roses, as well as wax privets (Ligustrum japonicum), acceptable landscape plants that were easily found, easily planted, and easily grown.  Now the years have past and the little girl was replaced by a teenager who didn’t care what was going on in nearby homes!  This is the year that the “jungle without” is going to be tamed.

The wax privets have been pruned to multi-stem standards whose canopies just graze the fence tops on the South side of the house.  The original pomegranate still is only giving small fruits which split as they ripen; the newer pomegranates are bending with 6-8 inch diameter fruits which are bright and cheery during this season of brown and yellowing leaves.  The oleanders are providing shelter for the multitude of birds which stay in the yard for up to weeks at a time and then head South or where ever to join up with more of their kind.  The hawthorn tree (Crataegus cordata) is full of berries, waiting for the birds to come and eat away.  The weeds are popping up to thwart my best laid plans to have fewer grass weeds next spring and all in all peace is in the garden!

Back to my original query, anyone out there available to hack a path with me back to those luscious pomegranates?  The only way to locate my little dog back there is to watch for the violently waving stems and stalks.

A little more pruning, thinning, and plant removal, and I will have the yard of my dreams (I think!).

Writer mocks efforts in anti-obesity fight

In December, it is not unusual to find wrap-up articles with lists characterizing the past year or decade. Such is the case with an op-ed published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal outlining the "Top five dumbest food cop proposals of the decade."

In the story, writer J. Justin Wilson used a UC Berkeley study to denounce efforts to combat obesity by using zoning law to limit the number of fast food restaurants.

"The problem? A recent report by researchers from UC Berkeley and Northwestern University found that people living with quick access to restaurants weren't fatter than those living farther away," Wilson wrote.

Wilson was referring to a 2008 study called "Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America?"

Michael Anderson of UC Berkeley and David A. Matsa of Northwestern University used the presence of interstate highways in rural areas to determine the supply of restaurants. The obesity data came from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing, large-scale telephone survey that interviews hundreds of thousands of individuals each year regarding their health behaviors.

"The results find no evidence of a causal link between restaurants and obesity, and the estimates are precise enough to rule out any meaningful effect," the researchers wrote. "Analysis of food intake micro data suggests that although consumers eat larger meals at restaurants than at home, they offset these calories at other times of day."

Even though the researchers found no causal link, they showed in their paper the close correlation of obesity rates and restaurant density over the last 50 years. (See graph below.) They concluded that public health policies targeting restaurants are unlikely to reduce obesity and could negatively affect consumer welfare.

Other obesity prevention ideas Wilson excoriated were:

• Filing lawsuits against fast food restaurants for making people fat.
• Taxing junk food or sweetened beverages.
• Banning sweets in schools.
• Appointing a national food czar.

Wilson might be right about restaurants, however, he cannot be considered an unbiased source. He is a senior research analyst at the Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies and consumers to "promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices."

Obesity and restaurant density have increased on the same trajectory.

Another weight loss story? It must be January

If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, Subway and its young, folksy spokesman Jared Fogle must be overjoyed. The company's fast food rival Taco Bell has a new spokesmodel, Christine Dougherty, who purportedly lost 54 pounds over two years (results not typical) by eating from the chain's "Fresco" menu.

Bay area news radio station KCBS interviewed UC Berkeley nutrition specialist emeritus Joanne Ikeda to get her thoughts on Taco Bell's new advertising campaign. Ikeda said it's possible dieters could lose weight eating Taco Bell food, but not likely.

"If you make the right selections and you are limiting your calorie intake, you can indeed do that," Ikeda told reporter Patty Reising. "But do most people do it? No, they don't."

It may be called a "drive-thru diet," but Ikeda pointed out they don't have recommended menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"That would be the kind of thing I'd be horrified at," she said.

Ikeda said that get-thin-quick schemes abound around the New Year, but there is really no substitute for healthy eating and exercise to lose weight.

More common sense information about weight loss is available from the UC Berkeley Center for Weight and Health.

(Image used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user Scott Ableman.)

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